Unearth a Story: Teens

Our 2026 Bookworm Summer Reading Theme is Unearth a Story. Dig into these exciting reads to get you started!

Updated April 6, 2026
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What the river knows : a novel
Ibañez, Isabel (Novelist)
Paper Book
The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in What the River Knows, Isabel Ibañez's lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt and filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race. Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera...
The moonlit vine
Santiago, Elizabeth
Paper Book
Fourteen-year-old Taína just learned that she is a descendant of a long line of strong Taíno women, but will knowing this help her bring peace and justice to her family and community? Despite her name, Taína Perez doesn't know anything about her Taíno heritage, nor has she ever...
Us in ruins
Moore, Rachel
Paper Book
Margot is on the quest to uncover and reassemble an ancient--and cursed--vase, with the help of a boy who went missing in 1932, because it's the only way to put back together her broken heart in this standa-lone adventure rom-com, perfect for fans of What the River Knows and The...
Curse of the Specter Queen
Moke, Jenny Elder
Paper Book
Samantha Knox put away her childish fantasies of archaeological adventure the day her father didn't return home from the Great War, retreating to the safety of the antique bookshop where she works. But when a mysterious package arrives with a damaged diary inside, Sam's peaceful life is obliterated....
Facing the mountain : a true story of Japanese American heroes in World War II
Brown, Daniel James
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER One of NPR's "Books We Love" of 2021 Longlisted for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography  Winner of the Christopher Award    "Masterly. An epic story of four Japanese-American families and their...
A deathly compendium of poisonous plants : wicked weeds and sinister seeds
Hirsch, Rebecca E.
Paper Book
"Should you encounter any of the plants in this book, do not treat them lightly. They can kill you. Or cause you unbearable agony. Or land you in jail. Consider yourself warned." Explore the strange and remarkable stories of poisonous and even deadly plants. Science, history, and...
The Monster's Bones : The Discovery of T. Rex and How It Shook Our World
Randall, David K.
Paper Book
In the dust of the Gilded Age Bone Wars, two vastly different men emerge with a mission to fill the empty halls of New York's struggling American Museum of Natural History: Henry Fairfield Osborn, a privileged socialite whose reputation rests on the museum's success, and intrepid Kansas-born...
The bones of Birka: unraveling the mystery of a female viking warrior
Surrisi, C.M.
Paper Book
How many female Viking warriors does it take to make a fact? When archaeologist Dr. Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson discovers that the bones contained in the most significant Viking warrior grave ever opened are, in fact, female, she and her team upend centuries of historically...
The lost queen
Phan, Aimee
Paper Book
"Lyrical, magical, and haunting."--Marie Lu, #1 New York Times bestselling author A heroine like no other, ancient magic unleashed, a fated epic battle--the first book in an enchanting YA fantasy duology inspired by Vietnamese lore, weaving magic, sisterhood, and self...
Into the sunken city
Thiru, Dinesh
Paper Book
"Steal-your-breath adventure." --Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Lunar Chronicles Perfect for fans of Fable and House of Salt and Sorrows, this spectacular YA fantasy adventure is like nothing else, featuring a vividly imagined dystopian world, a...
A clash of steel : a Treasure Island remix
Lee, C. B.
Paper Book
A Cosmopolitan Best Book of the Year "Pirate stories don't get much better than this." --Hypable Two intrepid girls embark on a legendary treasure hunt in this YA remix of Treasure Island, perfect for fans of Daughter of the Pirate King<...
The gilded wolves
Chokshi, Roshani
Paper Book
*AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* First in a "wildly inventive and wildly representative" (The New York Times Book Review) historical fantasy series, Roshani Chokshi's The Gilded Wolves follows the exploits of a found family--six societal outcasts...
If you can hear this
Gardner, Faith
Paper Book
The twisty, intricate mystery of I Killed Zoe Spanos meets the whip-smart sleuthing of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder in this young adult mystery from acclaimed author Faith Gardner, in which a club of misfits must come together to solve a dangerous high school mystery--and learn to...
The bone wars : a novel
Evan, Erin
Paper Book
"A remarkable combination of incredible scientific detail and convincing fabrication. History buffs and dinosaur devotees will find much to love in this science-based thriller." --Booklist ...
Dinosaur sanctuary. Vol. 1
Kinoshita, Itaru
Paper Book
A richly detailed manga about a rookie zookeeper learning how to care for dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes, sure to delight dinosaur lovers! Dinosaurs are alive! In 1946, a remote island was discovered where dinosaurs never went extinct. Through breeding and genetic manipulation...
How to survive in the age of dinosaurs : a handy guide to dodging deadly predators, riding out mega-monsoons, and escaping other perils of the prehistoric
Drimmer, Stephanie Warren
Paper Book
Boom, boom, BOOM ... Look out! That's a T. rex coming your way!? You've been transported back in time to the age of the dinosaurs. What do you do?! Test your chops and discover if you have what it takes to survive at a time when Earth looked, well, a tad...

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